I find it amazing that during this shutdown correctional officers at a maximum security facility in Kentucky were forced to work without pay during this time but the inmates still got paid for the jobs that they performed. Interesting. Read below for story and to see the speech CLICK HERE

(ViaWLWT) The GOP-led House gave the final stamp of approval to the Senate-brokered bill, passing it easily late Wednesday night. But it wasn’t Republicans who made it happen; a majority of that party’s caucus actually voted against the measure, which only passed because of overwhelming Democratic support.

The legislation now goes to President Barack Obama, who earlier in the night promised to do his part to end the partial government shutdown and raise the nations’ borrowing limit.

“I will sign it immediately,” the President said. “We’ll begin reopening our government immediately.”

When he does, it will be just in time given warnings the federal government could have run out of money to pay its bills had Congress not acted to hike the so-called debt ceiling.

The debt cushion now extends through February 7, with current spending levels being authorized through January 15.

That means a few months of breathing room, but little more. After all, the bill doesn’t address many of the contentious and complicated issues — from changes to entitlement programs to tax reform — that continue to divide Democrats and Republicans.

“We think that we’ll be back here in January debating the same issues,” John Chambers, managing director of Standard and Poor’s rating service, told CNN on Wednesday night “… This is, I fear, a permanent feature of our budgetary process.”

The heads of the Senate and House budget committees — Democratic Sen. Patty Murray of Washington and GOP Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin — will meet Thursday with an eye on addressing these budget divides. They’ll helm budget negotiations intended to come up with a broader spending plan for the rest of fiscal year 2014, which ends on September 30.

Obama, for one, didn’t seem in the mood Wednesday night for more of the same — saying politicians in Washington have to “get out of the habit of governing by crisis.”